四时 (sì shí) — four seasons | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

four seasons

Easily confused

四时，、、、。
Yì nián yǒu sì shí, fēn bié shì chūn, xià, qiū, dōng.
A year has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
四时，。
sì shí Gēng tì, wàn wù shēng zhǎng.
As the four seasons change, all things grow.
四时。
Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le sì shí de měi jǐng.
This poem describes the beautiful scenery of the four seasons.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

四 gives the number, and 时 names the seasons.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun; day

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.